Reforça a mistura do filme de terror e comédia do Yuletide e também aprimora o caráter de Kate.
Você não é o único que acha que essa história está fora de lugar: essa cena também não foi um grande sucesso entre os executivos do filme. De MentalFloss :
When the rough cut was complete, both Spielberg and some Warner Bros. executives wanted [the story] cut, as it wasn’t clear whether it was meant to be sad or funny. Dante insisted that that’s what made it a perfect metaphor for the film itself, and insisted it be kept in. In Roger Ebert’s three-star review of the film, he singled out this scene in particular, citing her story as being “in the great tradition of 1950s sick jokes.”
Mas vale lembrar que a história de 'vida real' de Kate não é original - ela está realmente repetindo uma conhecida lenda urbana de Natal . E aqueles que estão familiarizados com isso (e com o senso de humor de Dante) já podem sentir o tom certo: lendas urbanas e histórias de fogueiras como essas não devem ser profundas ou trágicas, mas sim mórbidas e divertidas. O próprio Dante elaborou a natureza certa desta cena nesta entrevista ao Film Comment , acrescentando que foi também destinado a fornecer um pouco de fundo para o personagem de Kate (o monólogo não foi originalmente escrito para ela):
The tone of the movie is summed up in that speech. She’s telling a story that’s completely ridiculous. However, if it actually happened to you, it would be horrible! It’s like the guy falling on a banana peel. It’s funny if you’re across the street, but not funny if you break your back. I like the complexity of it. Originally, it wasn’t her character who told that story, it was a guy who owned a McDonald’s. At the McDonald’s the gremlins would come in and eat the people but not the food. When that character and that bit disappeared, I said to Chris, I hate to lose that character and that speech. Let’s give it to Phoebe’s character, Kate, because she doesn’t have much stuff going on except being the heroine, and this gives her a secret. The audience has to find out what it is. She doesn’t like Christmas—well, why not? And now we find out why. And that’s a better character arc for her. And she did it beautifully.